Khaled Abbas, deputy minister of housing for national projects, said that the housing ministry is currently seeking to provide export incentives to support the construction sector, Invest-Gate reports.

Egypt’s current presidency of the African Union will stimulate the export of construction products to Africa, he revealed during a seminar organized by the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA) on February 13.

Commenting on limiting the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) mortgage initiative to low-income people, Abbas clarified that the initiative was not suspended, but the amount of money allocated for it has already been disbursed, however, the housing ministry is currently studying other alternatives to support the middle-income segment.

He uncovered that the state allocated about EGP 1 bn to support mortgage interest rates, which represents a great burden on the state, noting, “It was unlogical to provide a mortgage to a unit that costs EGP 2 mn, and thus, the state will provide mortgages only for people who are in real need for housing and categorized as low-income people.”